Beijing 2008 Water Polo

Men's Gold Medal Match - Match 43
Hungary 14 : 10 United States of America ( 6:4, 3:4, 2:1, 3:1 )

Water polo giants Hungary won their third successive and ninth Olympic men's water polo gold medal with a thrilling 14-10 victory over the United States who produced their best Olympic performance since 1988 in Seoul.

The two teams were almost inseparable until the final quarter. Tied 9 all at the end of the first half, Hungary edged ahead in the third period through Tamas Molnar. USA shots hit the woodwork or were wide of the target. Tony Azevedo put four goals past a solid Hungarian defence. Hungary were swift to counter attack and Daniel Rudolf Varga's two goals put the match beyond USA.

"It was painful to lose like that," U.S. coach Terry Schroeder said. "The team has been great. No one expected them to do this here. They [have] so much to be proud of." "Nobody wants to be second place, nobody likes losing their last game," said Peter Varellas. "We had a great run in this tournament and we just didn't finish the deal."

Men's Bronze Medal Match - Match 43
Montenegro 4 : 6 Serbia ( 0:2, 1:2, 1:2, 2:0 )

In a battle of two countries that were previously one, Serbia beat Montenegro 6-4 without starting goalkeeper Denis Sefik and leading scorer Aleksandar Sapic, a four-time Olympian considered by many to be the best player in the world.

According to Germany's Welt Online, Sapic and Sefik got into a fight following Serbia's semi-final loss to USA. Sapic is reported to have sustained a severe leg injury and Sefik broken a hand. Dejan Savic's two goals helped open up a 6-1 lead for the Serbs.

Women's Gold Medal Match - Match 20

United States 8 : 9 Netherlands (2:4, 3:1, 1:2, 2:2)

Danielle de Bruijn produced one of the performances of a lifetime on the final day of women's Olympic water polo. She scored the winning goal in the gold-medal match with just 29 seconds left on the clock, as well as six others to secure a Netherlands 9-8 victory over USA, the tournament favourites and world ranked number one team,

"I don't think I've ever quite seen that," said U.S. coach Guy Baker of de Bruijn's effort. "It is up there with some of the great performances, especially because she did it at the Olympics. We were trying to get her stopped, but she's always been a good scorer."

de Bruijn scored the first two goals and added a pair early in the second half to extend the Dutch lead to 7-5. Her final two scores came on the power play. USA still had several chances to draw level in the dying moments, but Elsie Windes missed an outside shot and Brenda Villa misfired on the rebound.

"I like the way we came back," said Baker. "I don't think we ever panicked down 4-0. We just could never get over the hump."